The Good IV League On-Line:
The Archives
That's right, the little numbers at the top of the page don't lie! This is our TENTH season here in the Good ol' Good IV League! And I don't know about you, but after last year's close races, and with a bevy of superstars up for auction this season, I'm as excited as I've ever been to get back into Baseball. Now, I realize that about half the league has added new infants to the roster in the past 9 months. But we've all been through it, and there is no special treatment just because your pre-draft analysis sheet has drool (or worse) on it.
I must confess that I'm a little distressed, having spoken (or e-mailed) with a few of you in recent weeks. Some of us have really not been doing our home work over the winter, have we? Do we all know that Otis Nixon is now a Twin, and Cecil Fielder and Angel, and Rickey Henderson is back, again, with the A's? Have we heard that the Brewers are now in the NL, and there's a new team in the AL, the Devil Rays? Have we heard of their probable starting outfield of McCracken, Martinez, and Trammell? Let's get with it, fellas, Spring Training is upon us!
Let me ask you some different questions: how much would you pay for Pedro Martinez? How about Ken Griffey or Frank Thomas? How about Dennis Eckersley? I once paid $40 for the Eck, when my draft strategy was not to buy a closer. Think he's worth it this year? What's the price tag for Chuck (the Yankee) Knoblauch? Is he the most valuable middle infielder available, or is it that kid on the Red Sox, Garciaparra? Yes, all these and many more will be up for bid in this year's draft.
Then there's those wonderful keeper decisions. Remember, we voted that this year the limit would be only 12 keepers per team; that might affect a few of us. But with so much high-priced meat on the table this year, what's the value of a keeper? Do the Boomers hold onto Tim Salmon ($35)? Should the Mountain Men retain Randy Johnson ($29) or Chili (the Yankee) Davis ($21)? Is Cal Ripken still worth his $18 to the Kings, or David Cone his $22 to the Lippers? Can the defending champion (again) Skid Rowes afford to hang onto the injured Carlos Delgado ($24), or even Reggie Jefferson ($20)?
This is what the next few weeks are for; preparing for the draft is almost as much fun as participating in it, and in the season.
Draft Day. As usual, the one thing we need to decide soon is the date and location of our draft. I'm considering offering to use my NEW basement rec-room (courtesy of Charlie Gambale), if you'll all promise not to spill beer and chips all over the carpet (assuming it's installed by then). As for the date, I'm floating the choice of Sunday, March 29, 10:00 AM. This is the perfect date as far as the season is concerned, and for once it's not Easter or Passover. Please let me know as soon as possible if this will work for you, and get in touch just to catch up on old times, okay? As usual, I can be reached at 781-477-9356 (day), 781-586-9407 (eve) -- note the new Area Code, you Outsiders -- and by e-mail at DNT@dntownsend.com.
Baseball. For those who haven't been paying attention, I've added a couple of new Baseball Journal columns, including one today. This is all the fun stuff that I used to put in these reports, but I'm now making available to the world at large. Including, for example, Mr. Peter Gammons. Last month, I had the amazing coincidence of running into Mr. Gammons on an airplane to Costa Rica. He was sitting in the front row of First Class as I got on the plane. By luck, I happened to have the Sunday Globe under my arm, as I'd been reading it just before. I immediately recognized him, and said "Hey, you're Peter Gammons, I've just been reading your column!" And I turned my paper around to show it to him. He and his wife both laughed. Then, when I got off the plane, he and I engaged in a very nice conversation, mostly about his recent visit to the Dominican Republic and Pedro Martinez's family. I couldn't resist giving him a business card, on which I wrote the web address of my Baseball Journal. I told him, truthfully, that he was my inspiration for writing it.
Anyway, on with the Spring! Hope to hear from you all soon.
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Copyright 1997 David N. Townsend